By: Spacelab Research Staff
Don't sign away ownership of your goods, kids. That's the lesson to be learned from the current state of the music industry if a recent report in the New York Times is true. The Times has said that Radiohead is currently in talks with both XL Recordings and Coran Capshaw (who's responsible for ATO Recordings and Side One) for the release of In Rainbows.
The big hairy deal is that these guys appear to be lining up to be distribution partners, not to provide a traditional record label deal. Radiohead would retain the ownership of In Rainbows, and rely on someone else like XL to distribute their music. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we're living in very heady times.
The Capshaw contingent would be responsible for the U.S. release of In Raiinbows. XL Recordings released Thom Yorke's solo side project The Eraser last year, and would be responsible for pushing the album everywhere else in the world.
Other peeps said to be left behind in the bidding process were Starbucks, Warner Brothers, and Columbia Records.
Side One is distributed by Sony BMG, so before we all laud this as an indie uprising, keep in mind that one of the big heavies would still be a part the distribution. Ownership of major distribution and marketing arms seems to still play a big part getting a project like In Rainbows out to the masses.
That being said, who thought we would ever be talking about a band holding on to their own copyright and picking which group would have the privelege of being allowed to distribute it?
